Ministry Highlights

Dawn Smith Jordan's Ministry Topics

As Dawn ministers, whether it be in a ladies' night out event, a women's retreat, or a church worship service or concert, she intertwines a combination of music, testimony, humor, transparency, and most importantly, the Truth found in God's Word. Dawn is available as a soloist, worship leader/pianist, and speaker.

Keep Believing…Trusting in the Lord When You Don't Understand (Also a message that is appropriate for secular settings, entitled "Keep Believing" as a motivational message.)

• Key Scripture: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• This became Dawn's life Scripture over 20 years ago as a result of experiencing a horrific tragedy in her life. At 21 years of age, her 17-year-old sister was kidnapped and murdered. The Lord began to instill within Dawn at a young age a deep-rooted faith in His sovereignty amidst such uncertainty. Sharing the journey from her sister's tragic death, to later going from being a pastor's wife to a single mother, to losing her mother to cancer…Dawn's focus in this session is on the four key words found in this Scripture:
  • Trust
  • Understanding
  • Acknowledge
  • Direct
  The more we learn to acknowledge God for Who He is in the midst of life's ever-changing and challenging circumstances, the easier it becomes to trust Him.

How Far Must Forgiveness Go?

• Key Scripture: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).
• In this session, as a continuation of "Keep Believing," Dawn will take the listener from learning how to truly trust the Lord with the hurts of life to the place of forgiving the very ones that have hurt us. In 1989 Dawn received a letter from the man that killed her sister, and while on Death Row, he claimed to have met Jesus Christ, asking Dawn to forgive him for what he had done. Dawn shares how God brought her to the place of understanding how true healing from the hurts of life cannot take place apart from the supernatural act of forgiveness in our own lives. Later she would learn to not only forgive the murderer, but to daily choose forgiveness as a path to healing and wholeness. The brightest future will always be based not on a forgotten past, but on a forgiven past.

Be Still

• Key Scripture: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
• This message focuses on an attitude of stillness as we go about the daily necessary labor that comes with life…how we can find the balance to "be still" in our attitudes and activities, first and foremost making a time set apart to spend with the Lord in prayer and Scripture to cultivate a heart that is still before Him as the Sovereign Lord over all areas of our lives.

Ride the Wind

• Key Scripture: Mark 4:35-39 (Jesus calming the storm)
• As Scott Krippane so beautifully wrote in his song, "Sometimes He calms the storm, and other times He calms His child," Dawn relates true-life stories of the various storms we each face in our lives, and yet in the midst of them, how the Lord is speaking to us, "Peace, be still." Instead of telling God how big our storm is, we need to begin to tell our storm how big our God is.

Out of the Mire and into the Choir!

• Key Scripture: "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:1-3).
• We all have our own "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" but God doesn't desire for us to keep on singing that song. But the life-song that we choose to sing is for the most part up to us! The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Although we may not choose some of the circumstances of our lives, we ALWAYS have a choice with how we respond…and in those times, if we choose to allow the Lord to do so, He will give us a new song, right out of the mire and into the choir for His glory!

Your Presence for Christmas (New since 2006)

• Key Scripture: "Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).
• This is a special program for the Christmas season, featuring the songs of Dawn's Christmas project, "Remember Christmas." She shares stories, songs, and a message about the gift of Emmanuel – God with us…a gift that the Lord desires for us to know and experience firsthand all year long. This is perfect for a Christmas ladies' night out event or a church-wide Christmas concert. (For these events, Dawn has the availability of a live guitarist, drummer, vocalists, as well as offering several songs that can be done with the host church's children's and adult choirs.)

For Ladies' Night Out Events, Dawn incorporates her testimony into a combination of the above themes to offer a more concise program that includes spoken word, song, and Scripture.

Dawn's Experiences

As a vocalist/worship leader at women's ministry events, Dawn has shared the platform with many of today's leading speakers, including Beth Moore, Becky Tirabassi, Kay Arthur, Marge Caldwell, Jeannette Clift George, Dorie Van Stone, Anne Graham Lotz and Patsy Clairmont.

As a part of the promotion for the movie based on Dawn's life story, "Nightmare in Columbia County", Dawn appeared on the Maury Povich Show, as well as sharing her music ministry at the conclusion of the movie with a concert clip of the song she wrote in Shari's memory, "Sister." Her story also appeared in the February, 1989 issue of Reader's Digest, as well as numerous other Christian publications, and she recently reappeared on the 700 Club, and shared her story of forgiveness on American Journal. In October of 1999, her story was featured on "The FBI Files" on the Discovery Network.

Her song, "How Far", came out of the work God did in Dawn's life, bringing her to the point of forgiving her sister's murderer. Through song and testimony, Dawn's story of the sufficiency of God's grace and forgiveness has been used by God to minister to thousands for over a decade.

Dawn's greatest joy is being a mother to her two children, Hannah (13) and Ross (10). They reside in Columbia, South Carolina, and are active members of First Baptist Church of Columbia.

You Can Help Support Dawn's Ministry

Send your tax-deductible contribution today!

Dawn Smith Jordan Ministries, Inc.
736-D St. Andrews Rd., # 179
Columbia, SC 29210

Jennifer Dale

Jennifer Dale is the Schedule Coordinator for Jordan Ministries, and she works out of her home in Columbia, SC. Jennifer keeps Dawn's ministry calendar coordinated, manages all promotional needs of the ministry event sponsors, and handles communication between Jordan Ministries and the sponsors. Jennifer joined the Jordan Ministries team in March of 2008.

Jennifer grew up in Germany where her parents served in Christian ministry. She came to the US in 1993 to go to Bryan College in Dayton, TN where she received her B.A. in psychology. She later went on to get her M.A. in counseling from Columbia International University where she also met her husband. Jennifer has served as Assistant Director at Daybreak Crisis Pregnancy Center in Columbia, SC.

Jennifer is married to Reid Dale and they have 3 children: Ian (8), Julie-Joy (7), and Jenna (3). She enjoys being a stay-at-home Mom and homeschooling her children. Reid works as a life coach at the Oliver Gospel Mission, a homeless shelter for men in inner city Columbia. He is also currently a student in the Master’s of Divinity program at Columbia International University.

Jennifer is passionate about God's Word and enjoys studying and teaching. She led a ladies' small group Bible Study for 3 years and served as singles ministry director alongside her husband at their previous church in North Carolina. She enjoys singing and playing the piano at her church. Having lived in England for a year before coming to the US, she has developed a love for tea and enjoys her morning “tea times with Jesus” before the kids wake up.

Jennifer and her husband are active in their church, Three Rivers Baptist.

Hannah Jordan

Hannah Jordan is a rising sophomore at Dutch Fork High School where she is within the Performing Arts major. She is Dawn's daughter, and serves within the Jordan Ministries' team as Ministry Office Assistant. She is a delightful young lady who enjoys playing soccer with CESA Columbia, singing in the high school praise band at First Baptist Church of Columbia as well as serving on the Campus Missionaries Leadership Team, and joining her Mom as a guest vocalist at various ministry events when possible.